Kenyan golfers a million courses away from winning the Kenya Open

[Photo: Courtesy]

A juicy Sh10m awaits the winner of the 50th edition of the Kenya Open Golf Championship this March. The second to fourth positions shall win Sh7m, Sh4m and Sh3.75m respectively.

 The Sh100m purse is almost double last year’s kitty such that the 15th placed golfer shall win as much as last year’s winner.

 Just making the cut guarantees Sh196, 850. It is therefore no wonder that Kenyan professional golfers and their fans are holding their breath hoping this is the year an indigenous Kenyan wins the Kenya open golf championship, a European Challenge Tour event.The reality is that it will not happen anytime soon, if ever.

 

Year in year out, a team of a dozen or so Kenyan professional golfers go to the Muthaiga or Karen course with tons of bravado, in total belief that they will break this jinx.

 That has yet to happen. What they appear to be confirming is Einstein’s famous quote: "Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

Professional golf has become the most lucrative sport in the world; hence everyone and his dog are gunning to get in. 

 

 Competition is fierce

Families are committing huge sums of money in order to give their children an edge. This sometimes includes moving to new countries, joining expensive universities and private golf clubs, taking endless expensive lessons, and purchasing the latest golf equipment and training aids and gizmos.

The field against our pros is heavily tilted against them. For one, most start golfing too late in life. Statistics show that most successful golfers started swinging before they were five. It’s like ballet; you have to start very young in order to mold your bones and build certain muscles.

Golfers need to go back and start at an early age

 It is also a fact that kids compete without fear, their minds only focused on pulling off the shot, not thinking of what could go wrong. Such risk taking is sometimes necessary in golf, hence the phrase “golfing like a kid”.

Most Kenyan golfers start after they are employed and have advanced to a managerial position. The ones who seem to have started earlier are school drop outs. Unfortunately, that also means they are burdened with certain handicaps when it comes to learning golf. They learn how to play golf, more from demonstration and observation than from formal learning.

With time they improve their proficiency and soon “turn Pro” and try to earn a living either as club employees or by teaching golf.

Such is how a Catch 22 situation develops into a cycle of failure. How does this ex-caddy teach golf when he himself has serious deficiencies? Some of these pros try their hand at the Professional Tour, for many just the Kenya Open, and perform dismally.

 Very few, if any of our professional golfers have undergone formal training on how to teach golf. This usually requires an apprenticeship under a Master Pro, who not only understands the physical side of golf, but also the science behind it.

We do not have such a golf school in Kenya. The few pros who claim to have been trained abroad will usually only have attended a few weeks’ course. That is not enough. Without good teachers, any profession can only go so far. The teachers available can only teach the basics of golf. Many a student has been taught golf the wrong way and developed flaws in his swing that will last a lifetime and are impossible to unlearn.Lack of training equipment is another major handicap. Today’s golf is a very scientific and technical sport.

 

The training itself, and selection of the correct golf clubs leads a golfer into the strange world of launch monitors, simulators, swing analysis software, clubfitting, ballfitting, nanotech golf shafts, muscleback irons, multilayer golf balls, hybrid clubs, rangefinders and DMDs to name but a few.

Knowledge about what these are is imperative at Pro level. We have, however, no such facilities in Africa. A Trackman swing analysis monitor costs $30,000 (Sh3m). A golf teacher will find it hard to invest such a sum.

Unfortunately, it is impossible to determine the best equipment and the best swing, or even train a golfer on certain aspects of golf like how to control the amount of draw or fade, without swing analysis monitors and software. Our Pros are just guessing. Most buy mass market clubs off the rack then try and learn how to fit themselves to this equipment, instead of the other way round.

 

The cost is of playing equipment is also prohibitive. A full set of golf equipment comprising a set of fitted blade irons, composite driver and woods, a couple of hybrid clubs, a milled face putter, three or four wedges, rangefinder or GPS DMD and the bag itself, costs upwards of $3,000 (Sh300,000). Add leather gloves, multilayer urethane cover golf balls, leather shoes, rainsuit, umbrella, towel, swing donuts and tees and the price is simply prohibitive.But the single item that sabotages our pros is lack of knowledge.

 

 As mentioned above, most are challenged in the education department. This means that they are unable to take advantage of the information available about golf.

Back in the days, golfers supplemented their knowledge by reading golf books and magazines, which were hard to find in the first place, and watched videos which were even scarcer. The internet has provided a whole world of information and learning, but I bet you our Pros are not taking advantage of it.

On the surface, our pros look good when playing. But against what standard? If on a regular weekend competition they are unable to shoot scores corresponding to those shot by winners in the last competitions, how can they even dream of doing so during competitions?

Our two courses are also relatively short. The Muthaiga and Karen courses, measure 7,228 and 6,972 yards long respectively. These days, PGA Professional golf is played on courses of lengths north of 7,500 yards.

 The Tshwane Open in South Africa was set at 7,655 yards, while the BMW Championship at Crooked Stick is at 7,567 yards. That 500 yard difference has a huge difference in performance required, and our pros will find the going tough when competing against others who are used to these monster courses.

The other element that has crept into our golf professional is arrogance. What with their soaring long drives! They assume that they “know their courses” and cannot be beaten on home ground. To their chagrin, that local knowledge is negated by a simple item called a Yardage book.

 A number of our pros do not have one or even know how to use it. Green Reading Maps further reduce this local knowledge advantage. Of course our boys are clueless on these and do not bother with them, which is why they perform so badly when they dare to compete anywhere but home.

This arrogance is compounded by a sense of importance and entitlement. It is unbelievable that last month the Professional Golfers of Kenya, PGK, rejected a Sh32m sponsorship by Barclays, to hold a five-competition series in February to be used for selection of the pros who shall be awarded the eighteen slots awarded to Kenya by the Challenge Tour.

Their excuse was that they already have their own selection system. And for that they sneezed at Sh32m? Give me a break. The obvious truth is that the older pros want to rig out the flatbellies who have been kicking their asses lately. That is a very selfish action against these boys and a disservice to the country and the golfing fraternity.

That Sh32m would have provided them with the one thing they gripe about: lack of sponsorships. Not that they should even be demanding for such since as professionals, they are there for personal gain. Pro golf is a job, just like any other job. 

 

Talking of funding and sponsorships, what are the pros giving back to their company sponsors? On different forum I have advised them to give back something in order to get sponsorships. These pros are walking billboards! They should sell advertising space on virtually any space on their attire.

Gone are the days of one logo on a golfer’s Cap. Nowadays it will feature different logos on the visor, the front, back and sides. The shirt has logos on both breasts, behind the collar, at the back and even on sleeves, and the golf bag itself. Why not imprint your sponsor’s Logo on these? There is no free lunch, guys.

Those who understand the need to go on tour also understand that it is a very expensive undertaking. Tours are held in different countries. Even where the tour is held in one expansive country like the US PGA tour, there are massive costs in air tickets, rents (you need a base), hotel accommodation, food and drinks, apparel, equipment, car rentals, airtime, laundry, golf lessons, golf swing pros and consultants… the list is almost endless. 

 Before any sponsor commits themselves to fund you on a tour, they have to be sure you are worth it, and you may have to prove it. Most with their limited experience and exposure, cannot pass muster, and if put under the critical eye of a golf swing expert will fail the test. Some have really wacky swings that would make Hogan puke.

To a large extent local pros are clueless when it comes to understanding what it takes to become a Professional Tour golfer and are in particular technology dinosaurs. Pro golf is no longer just driving the ball a mile. It is now an art and science.

You need knowledge on the science of ball flight, agronomy, and human physiology and psychology. Some of our Pros do not think this is important.

 

A simple test to confirm this is to find out which of our Club Pros have prepared yardage books for their own courses where they work as Pros, or how many of them have a rangefinder, and how many of them have guided their clubs in passing the local rule that allows use of distance measuring devices, that has been allowed by the R&A since 2006.

Just to emphasis how yardage books are important, I have to brag about how I guided the Kenya Team to win the 2010 Zone VI played in Gaborone, Botswana, the first and only time they won the title in more than twenty years.

All I did was arm them with yardage books for the Gaborone Course that I prepared, and then brief them on how to use them then accompany the team as two of them played a few holes with different strategies during the practice round.

 

By that single move I changed their approach to golf from amateur to Pro. They may not have been the best team that ever represented Kenya in the competition for the last twenty years. But this time they were better prepared. They even beat South Africa, the undisputed golf champs in the continent.

How about fitness? Formula 1 drivers, who basically work while seated, long discovered the need to keep fit. They spend hours in the gym and on the treadmill.

One can argue that it’s the swing not the strength, but watching DJ blast drives 30 yards past Rory, you know who has the advantage. Six foot 2 inches appears to be the magic number in height. Not much you can do about that, but fitness helps.

Few of our Pros ever visit the gym or hit the running track to improve their fitness. No wonder some do well on Thursday at the Kenya Open, but never make the cut on Friday. Those who do, collapse on Saturday and get buried on Sunday due to lack of resilience as a result of poor fitness.

The one thing that has been pointed out as the cause of failure by our pros is lack of discipline when it comes to alcohol intake. We have all heard how they booze it up on Thursday and Friday during the Open to celebrate their “great” performances.

We also know that alcohol is detrimental to athletic performance. Why can’t they wait and drown themselves out on Sunday evening? Were they disciplined, hungry enough and really cared about their success, they would take a rain check.

There are lots of deficiencies that inform my understanding of lackluster performance by our Pros that they need to understand: Nutrition, hydration and management of energy levels for example.

 It’s a harsh prediction, but I almost don’t see any of our home-grown golfers win the Kenya Open during our lifetime. Last year’s winner, Aaron Rai, though born in Mombasa, developed his game in Europe, and so does not count in this argument.

 

I know I will get a lot of flak for saying this, but I sincerely do not see any of the current Professional golfers in East Africa who has the ability to make it to, let alone, win on the US or European PGA Tour.

Looking into the future, what else can be done to achieve top level golf for amateurs and pros? Reviving the Course at Lenana School and lobbying private clubs to allow school kids to train at their golf clubs would be an even better idea.

However, setting up a public course at Kasarani, with a view to taking golf to the masses will not work: golf is developed at clubs. If were asked, I would suggest building a modern golf school with real classrooms that have multimedia facilities for teaching golf.

I would also add practice bunkers and greens, driving range with simulators and swing analysis equipment, a short game area, a nine hole course, and a Pitch and Putt course for kids, and surprise, surprise, a gym and also a running track around the facility.

 Crucial too would be hiring a qualified golf manager to run the facility. KGU should consider hiring a qualified PGA Teaching Pro, not former Club pros or Tour wannabes that never made it, to not only train the National Team, but also to train the Club pros on how to teach. Personal challenges go to the pros as discussed in this article.

 

The golf governing bodies in East Africa have their work cut out. But they need to consult people and institutions who have the knowledge to advise them on the correct strategies instead of calling on old hands in the local scene, who, with all due respect, have never been actively involved in golf elsewhere, or even at higher levels, and whose golf knowledge on some crucial areas are deficient or lacking. Those ones end up trying to re-invent the wheel, using archaic ideas, thus taking us back to that Einstein quote

I expect the above positive criticisms to hurt the egos of our overrated pros and irritate the traditional wajuajis in our golfing circles. But we can’t keep doing the same thing over and over and still expect better results. We would be deceiving ourselves. Pros, please prove me wrong; I will be delighted.

©[email protected], 2018

Mike The Pro Kibunja, is a golf aficionado, golf writer, critic, rules official and golfer who has been involved in the world of golf for more than twenty years.

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